


Gladers Floral Designs

by JDMarien



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Lots of flowers and flower meanings, M/M, Newt is a Florist, Newt is jealous, Thomas is an Idiot, Thomas is the customer with the odd request, Two dumb boys falling in love over flowers, flower shop au, rated T for some swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-15 05:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16056362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JDMarien/pseuds/JDMarien
Summary: Newt had been working at Gladers Floral Designs for 3 years, but never had as strange of a request for an arrangement as the one the gorgeous brown haired customer that came in holding $20 that day.





	1. The Fuck-You Bouquet

**Author's Note:**

> Scrolling through fic prompts on tumblr and came across the florist shop au prompt from bard-against-hoomanity and the response with flower meanings by kocheiis 
> 
> First time writing for MR fandom, but I of course fell in love with this pairing from the get go!
> 
> Not sure if I should leave this as a one shot or if anyone is interested enough for this to become a multi chapter work, because I DO have ideas in mind!

Newt had been working at Gladers Floral Designs, aka The Glade, for about 3 years as a business partner. He stepped up to take over when his partner, Alby took a leave of absence and asked him to run the shop while he was gone.

He loved flowers and plants in general, and spending his time surrounded by his favourite things made him love coming to work. Though there were the few occasions when there would be horrible clients that came in without a clue in the world as to what they were requesting and would act as though they knew more than him from a Pinterest post they had seen. Other than the obsessed bridezillas, or worse the mother of the bridezilla, who would sometimes literally suck the soul out of him, he had to admit that being a lead florist in one of the busiest shops was his favourite thing.

That was until one day when he was behind the counter putting together some new arrangements for the upcoming summer seasons when the most peculiar customer came in. He was taken aback when suddenly a slam to the counter made him jump and accidentally cut too close to the blooms of the bouquet he was putting together. 

“Bloody hell you nearly made me cut the entire blooms off you sodding–” and whatever was left of Newt’s rant was cut short when he spun around and was met by the most beautiful sight he had seen. 

Standing on the other side of the counter was a young man about his age with the most beautifully sculpted face. The eyes he was looking in to were the most intense dark brown he had seen but when they turned their head the light from outside caught them just right to show off the amber colour that almost glistened. Newt was at a loss for words and whatever reprimand he originally had in mind was completely lost on him at that point. 

“How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you to someone with flowers?” The boy said to him with all the intensity still in his eyes.

That’s when Newt looked down to the counter where said boy had slammed his hand down and saw a twenty dollar bill poking out. 

“Err..” His eyes flicked back up to the brunette in front of him and he had to mentally kick himself into gear. “Right, um, sorry, but what exactly do you want?” Newt couldn’t help the amusement that crept into his voice. Out of any floral request this by far was the strangest he had ever received.

“How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you to someone with a bouquet of flowers?” He asked again verbatim.

Newt stared at him incredulously and cocked an eyebrow, but when it was apparent this guy wouldn’t clarify more, he cleared his throat. “Right, ok because that’s _so much_ to go by.” He mumbled more so to himself. “Well I guess it depends first on how much you are willing to spend. I’m sorry but twenty dollars won’t get you that far if you want to go all out with the ‘fuck you’ statement.” Newt couldn’t help the smirk that crept on his lips because again, strangest request ever.

The boy in front of him blushed at that and fumbled with his back pocket as he pulled out his wallet. He was mumbling something inaudible under his breath, but Newt was certain he caught something about someone named Gally and their stupid face. He sighed and pulled out a fifty and added it to the top of the twenty. “Would this do? There’s just this coworker of mine who I just really want to get back at for the stunt he pulled, but apparently HR intervened before I could really get back at him so I want to trick him into thinking it’s a truce when really I’m telling him to fuck off.” The pleading look on his face was enough to make Newt feel sorry for the bloke. He would also be lying if this story didn’t intrigue him enough to want to help out.

“That would probably do the job,” he reached out and grabbed the money on the counter, “but hold on to your cash for now until we get everything finalized and you’re satisfied with all that will go in your bouquet.” He winked and held the money back out for the brown haired beauty to grab. If their fingers accidentally brushed against each other then that wasn’t his fault. He smirked at the light blush he saw on the other boys cheeks.

Newt took the apron he was wearing off before coming out from behind the counter. It wasn’t often that gorgeous guys came in and he’d be damned if he didn’t use it as an opportunity to get some flirting in. “I apologize I haven’t properly introduced myself or welcomed you to my shop.” Newt said as he held out his hand, “My name is Newt and welcome to The Glade, it’s my pleasure to help you with all your floral needs today.”

The brunette smiled and took Newt’s hand in a firm handshake, “I’m Thomas, and thanks for helping me with such a weird request.” He smiled sheepishly.

Newt chuckled and led Thomas, _Tommy_ he thought to himself sounded much better, around the shop and began pointing out the different flowers he would want for his ‘fuck you’ bouquet. “I’ll admit this request is definitely up there on being strange, but it’s nothing I can’t help you with.” Newt walked over to where there was an empty plastic bucket next some roses and poured some water in it from a nearby water jug.

“These are geraniums, and the meaning behind those is stupidity so figured you can’t go wrong there.” He picked out a bunch of blooms and looked them over to his satisfaction before placing them in the bucket. He stopped and bit his lip in concentration before turning around and handing the bucket over to Thomas. “Do you mind holding these? It’ll be easier if I have an assistant while I get you what you’ll need for this _special arrangement_.” 

Thomas obliged and hastily grabbed the bucket. “Yeah sure no problem.” He looked around the shop and studied each flower and bouquet display and whistled. “Is it normally just you working or are there other employees that work here?”

Newt was in the middle of examining a bunch of lilies trying to find the perfect shade of orange and answered over his shoulder, “There are other employees yes, but it’s one of the slower days today since it’s midweek so just me today. Though we’re getting to wedding season, so it’s the calm before the storm.” His face lit up when he found what he was looking for and grabbed two large lilies, “Ah yes here we go.” He turned and motioned for Thomas to come closer. “Now these,” he said while holding up the orange flower, “as beautiful as they are will represent your overall hatred for this person. Some people will argue that orange lilies represent wealth and confidence, but they’ve never been my favourite so in this case we’ll say that they represent your hatred for this coworker, yeah?” 

All Thomas could do was just smile and nod his head, but god was that still a sight to see. Having him hold a bucket of flowers while following Newt around the store was probably the best idea the florist was going to have all day. It suddenly struck him that Thomas could be on a certain time limit so he asked, “I’m not keeping you from anything important am I?”

Thomas pulled that sheepish smile again and looked embarrassed when he spoke, “Uh no you’re not.” With one hand holding the bucket he used the other to scratch the back of his head and looked away, “That’s why I’m here actually. I came straight from work because I was asked to go home for the rest of the day to cool off and come back in tomorrow with a more level head.”

Newt was amused and relieved at the same time, “Good it means I get you more for myself.” he said as he smiled. He added some yellow carnations and surprisingly still had leftover meadowsweet from the oddball order that a bride had made the previous weekend. He hadn’t had the heart to tell her that the flower meaning behind it meant uselessness, but was glad he was able to use up the leftovers. “Alright the yellow carnations will say ‘you have disappointed me,’ while the meadowsweet–which you’re lucky I happen to have since I don’t normally order it–will mean ‘uselessness.’ A few more should do it.”

Thomas didn’t say much at first and just watched as Newt added different flowers to the bucket and nodded to each flower meaning he was told. Newt wasn’t sure if he was just boring the poor bloke or if he just didn’t know what to say. He knew that he could ramble sometimes about flowers and different plants, so it wouldn’t be a far stretch to say that he had completely lost Thomas in one of his many ramblings.

Before he could continue the bell from the front door alerted him to another customer. He put on his best salesman face and stood up from where he had been kneeling. “Ah! Good afternoon Mrs. Bertram, I’ve got your order in the back all ready to go, just give me one moment.” He smiled and waved to the old woman who had walked in before turning to Thomas and reaching out his hand. Thomas looked down at the offered hand with a puzzled look before placing his own hand in Newt’s.

This made Newt laugh and shake his head, “As much as I’d like to hold your hand, Tommy I meant could you hand me the bucket of flowers? I’ll take them with me to the front while I’m headed that way.” He couldn’t help the little flip his stomach made when he saw the deep red flush spread across Thomas’s face. It was a look he definitely didn’t mind seeing and it made the brunette even more endearing.

“Right, sorry I don’t know what I was thinking.” Thomas sputtered out and hastily shoved the bucket into Newts hand. The florist wasn’t entirely sure the floor was that interesting to look at but wasn’t about to poke even more fun at the poor guy. At least not with another customer around, that would just be cruel.

“Thanks for your patience, Mrs. Bertram, I’ve got that order for you right here.” He said as he made his way around the counter to set Thomas’s flowers down before heading to the back room. 

“Oh thank you so much dear, this means so much to me!” The older woman went to grab for her purse as the florist came out of the back holding her flowers.

“Please, it’s no problem at all, and don’t worry about payment Alby has it all taken care of even while he’s gone.” He smiled warmly at her and held out the arrangement of purple chrysanthemums and white lilies. 

Mrs. Bertram gave him a sad smile before thanking him, “You make sure to tell that Alby of yours that we miss him dearly and that I can’t thank him enough for being so thoughtful and kind to such an old lady. When is that partner of yours coming back anyhow?”

At hearing the word “partner” Newt’s eyes flickered over to Thomas to see if he had heard, but the brunette seemed preoccupied in some babies breath at the other end of the counter and hadn’t seemed to notice.

“He, uh, hasn’t said yet but you’ll be the first of our loyal customers to know once he tells me.” He smiled and waved her off as she left.

“Thank you again dear!” She said as the door swung shut behind her.

When she was gone a heavy silence filled the store and Newt had to clear his throat to get himself to speak. Thomas wasn’t looking at him but had moved closer to the counter. He looked deep in thought but Newt wasn’t sure what to say. Technically he was a customer and they had just met that day, so it wasn’t like coming up with conversation topics was easy when an awkward tenseness had just been set between them.

Maybe a lighthearted approach would work, “So tell me _Tommy_ , what does someone have to do to get on your shit list in order for them to get such a _wonderful_ display of flowers?”

That seemed to do the trick as Thomas let a small smile grace his once tense face. Instead of answering, though, he said, “It’s been years since someone has called me Tommy.” He looked up fully and met Newt’s eyes with that beautiful smile that reached those amazingly beautiful deep brown eyes of his.

Newt couldn’t help his own blush that he felt burning his ears and looked back at the bucket of flowers on the counter instead. 

“I hope you don’t mind, it just seemed like a better fit than Thomas.” Newt said and ducked below the counter. He pulled out a simple vase that would fit all of the blooms they had picked out earlier. He filled it with water and put his apron back on before he began taking each bloom out and trimming the stems enough and then slowly began arranging the bouquet for Thomas.

“Nah I don’t mind, I kind of like it.” 

Newt glanced up but Thomas was making sure to look more interested in the geraniums instead. He smiled and pulled out the lilies next.

“Good. But you still didn’t answer my previous question, Tommy.” An annoyed huff in response made him laugh but he waited for Thomas to elaborate before saying anything else

“This guy, let me tell you, he’s a piece of work that’s for sure. He makes my shitty landlord look like a good guy, and that’s without even _trying_ to be a grade A dick.” Thomas rolled his eyes dramatically. “So I know it’s not the biggest deal but it bothered me enough to want to smash this guys face in–I promise I’m not some crazy dude that just wants to punch people–but Gally. Ugh! Gally just _knows_ how to get under my skin with every little thing at work.” He watched Newt’s hands perfectly and precisely place each flower in place as he spoke. “It started off with the usual ‘I hate you’ banter, but as each month passed he's just gotten more and more insufferable.” Thomas bit the inside of his cheek as though not sure to continue with the story or not.

“Go on, I’m waiting in anticipation to hear the rest.” Newt urged.

Thomas sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “So my other coworker Teresa–I promise this is relevant–well we’ve known each other for as long as I can remember but she’s like a sister to me. And Gally got it in his head to start a rumour that Teresa and I had been caught making out in the office supply closet. When I confronted him about it and told him that she’s like a sister to me and that he needed to stop spreading rumours, well then I’ll let you guess what he started telling people next.”

Newt was enthralled in the tale and even though he had never met this Gally bloke, he could already tell he wanted to punch the guy as well. “Don’t tell me…” he trailed off and looked almost sick as he said it.

Thomas pursed his lips together, “Yep.” He enunciated with a pop. “The jackass started telling people I was sleeping with my sister. It got so bad that Teresa filed a complaint and got transferred to a different city and will be leaving at the end of the week, but still Gally somehow managed to keep his job. I was on my way to literally smash his keyboard into his face after Teresa told me, but I guess she went and got someone from HR to come intervene. I had to have a long chat about anger management and how I should take the higher ground and offer a truce or whatever.” Thomas had reached forward and was absentmindedly stroking one of the petals of the lily as he finished his story. “So that’s why I’m here.” He ended by shrugging.

Newt was at a loss for words. There was no way someone could be that horrible, and even if they were then how could they pick on someone as beautiful as Tommy? Maybe that was the case, they were jealous of Thomas’s good looks?

Newt placed his hand over Thomas’s and softly said, “Tommy I’m not supposed to tell people this but I’ve got some foxglove in the back. I think this bouquet would look just _amazing_ with that in it, do you know what it is?” His voice was sinister and he almost scared himself. Almost.

Thomas just kept staring at the hand on his and gulped before shaking his head. “No. What’s that?” He looked up at Newt who was staring at him with an almost diabolical smile.

“Well the flower meaning itself means stupidity, but the flower is also poisonous if not handled correctly. So for liability reasons we can’t go selling it to just anybody. But I mean, I feel like this kind of warrants the use.” He lifted his hand off of Thomas and moved to grab some gloves. “I mean technically I’ve given _you_ the speech and warning on their danger. Whatever happens after you take them is another thing.”

Thomas just blinked before suddenly a fit of laughter overcame him. “Man you’re more fucked up than me.”

Newt blushed, “Perhaps I did take it a little too far there, you’re right.”

“I think I’ll stick to the non deadly bouquet for now, I wanna keep my job.” He laughed again and smiled another beautiful smile. Newt was going to have to make a list for the different kinds of smiles Thomas had if he ever were to see him again.

“Right, well here it is then.” He spun the flower arrangement around for Thomas to get a better view. 

“Wow!” Thomas looked back from the bouquet to Newt in awe. “Had you not told me the meaning of all of these flowers I’d say they were the most beautiful arrangement I’ve seen. I don’t know much about flowers, so thank you so much. I definitely feel a lot better than when I first came in here.”

Newt ducked his head when he smiled to try and hide another blush. “It seems as though I was mistaken about the price, Tommy, the total will be twenty dollars afterall.” 

Newt would have laughed at how wide Thomas’s eyes got but instead was taken aback by the next question that the brunette blurted out.

“So you have a partner?”

Newt blinked a few times, “Excuse me?”

“Oh I’m sorry I don’t mean to pry, I just was curious since that lady said it earlier, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. You don’t have to answer, anyway thanks for the flowers and for all of your help, I’m going to stop talking now.” Thomas quickly rambled as he slid over the money for the bouquet and nervously looked away from Newt’s gaze.

He looked like he wanted to run away the moment he got his receipt, so Newt took his time ringing him up. “Actually, Tommy, Alby is my _business_ partner. He’s taking a sabbatical so I’m in charge while he’s gone. That’s all.” He smiled warmly at Thomas which earned him another perfect view of those red cheeks.

“Oh. Ohhhh.” Thomas shook his head and laughed. “Wow I feel like an idiot.”

The florist laughed and then winked at Thomas, “Good thing I like idiots.” 

Thomas smiled as he grabbed the receipt offered to him and shoved it in his pocket. He reached for the bouquet and let their fingers brush against each other again before turning to leave. 

Before the gorgeous piece of work that was Thomas could leave, Newt made sure to put on his best salesperson meets sexy British bloke voice which immediately caught the other boy’s attention, “ _Tommy_ thank you so much for choosing The Glade for your floral needs. If there’s _anything_ I can ever do for you again, _please_ give me a call.” He said as he went around to the front of the counter and slipped a business card with his personal number written on the back into Thomas’s front pocket. Newt made sure to keep eye contact the entire time he did so and relished in seeing the Adam’s apple in Thomas’s throat bob as he swallowed hard.

So maybe working in a florist shop wasn’t just his favourite thing anymore. His new favourite thing was helping out, and flirting with, a ridiculously good looking brunette named Thomas. He just hoped that he could continue to do so for a long time.


	2. Peonies and Carnations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas is being stupid, but thankfully his friend is conniving and likes to meddle in his love life.
> 
> Aka the one where Brenda takes things into her own hands.

It’d been five days since Thomas had gone to the florist shop and four days since giving the bouquet to his coworker Gally. It successfully worked in getting HR to back off, and he felt vindication when it immediately made Gally sneeze uncontrollably. According to what Teresa had told him, HR was making Gally keep the flowers at least for a week to show his acceptance of the proposed truce between them. In all of the chaos at work he had completely forgotten to get in touch with the florist.

He wasn’t stupid, he could clearly tell that the blonde had been flirting with him, but he also was known to second guess himself at every turn when it came to flirting with someone as beautiful as that boy had been. On top of that he had been daydreaming of that irresistible voice he had almost everyday since his encounter and he knew that if he didn’t play it cool then it would be his undoing.

Thomas had been in the middle of googling flower meanings while on his break when his only other favourite coworker came up behind him.

“Hey Tom what’re you looking up now? How many roses it takes to woo a florist.”

Thomas snorted, “Not quite, Brenda. I haven’t even gotten in touch with him since he gave me his number. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore to be honest.”

“Aha! So it IS about him! You seriously have not stopped talking about him. Why don’t you just call or text him already? Your window of opportunity is gonna close if you don’t jump on that.” Brenda said while sitting down next to him on the bench he had been sitting on eating his lunch.

Thomas just sighed and closed his phone. He dug the card Newt had given him from the pocket of his pants and rubbed his thumb over the number scrawled on the back. He had done it so often over the short amount of time he had it that the corners and edges of the card were beginning to get worn down.

Brenda rolled her eyes and plucked the the card from Thomas,s hands. “Fine if you won’t then _I_ will.”

“Hey give that back,” Thomas’s voice squeaked as he tried to grab the card back from his friend. 

“Cool it Romeo, I just wanted to see the name of the florist shop. I was thinking of surprising Jorge with some flowers to congratulate him on winning that truck from Marcus last week.” Brenda smirked and handed the card back to Thomas. “The Glade? Sounds corny.”

Thomas scoffed and if he snatched the business card back with a little too much force then that was just because he knew not to trust Brenda when she went snooping into personal life. 

“Don’t even think about it Brenda. Whatever scheme you’re coming up with,” he narrowed his eyes and shook his head, “just don’t.”

“Yeah, yeah lover boy. Just don’t wait too much longer ok?” 

Thomas shoved the business card back in his pocket and packed up the rest of his lunch. With one last pointed look at Brenda he headed back inside his office to get back to work. He swallowed his nerves and told himself that night after work was when he would finally call Newt. He just had to make it through the rest of his work day. 

In his haste to get back inside he missed the playful smirk on his friend’s face. Brenda pulled out her phone and searched for the florist shop on google. She clicked the call button and her smile grew when the line picked up almost immediately on the other end.

“Hi I wanted to place an order for delivery?” 

——

Newt walked back into the florist shop from his most recent delivery to hear his coworker Minho finishing up an over the phone order. He dropped his bag off on the back counter and pulled his phone out of his pocket to see if he had gotten any missed calls or texts from a certain brunette who _still_ hadn’t called. 

Nothing. Still nothing. He sighed forcefully and then shoved his phone back in his pocket. 

Minho gave him a questioning look over his shoulder while finishing up writing out the specifics for the over the phone order. Newt just shook his head as his response and walked over to look at the notes his coworker had written down.

“Alright, and so you’ll be needing that by 4:30pm?” Minho rolled his eyes at Newt’s own questioning look and shrugged while he continued. “Of course, it’s no problem at all, I just wanted to make sure you knew about the added charge for same day delivery, especially since it’s close to our own closing time.” 

Newt looked at the order and started gathering up the peonies and carnations needed for the bouquet while Minho got the address and contact information details from the customer he was speaking to. 

“Yeah we can put a card with it, sure.” Minho went to the far end of the counter and started spinning around the selection. “Do you want it to be blank and we add your message? Or would you prefer to have one with a saying already in there and then we also add your message to it?” He played with the card display while waiting for an answer. “Oh uh I’m not sure, I’ve never heard of anything like that. Hold on one moment let me ask my manager,” Minho covered the phone and called out to Newt, “Hey do we have any cards specific for first dates? Have you heard of anything like that?”

Newt snorted and shook his head, “Ask them what they want it to say exactly and then write it out for them. We don’t sell cards that specific. Just generic holidays and get well soon etcetera.”

Minho nodded, “No sorry nothing like that, but what would you like it to say exactly?” He pulled out a pen and started writing it down. Newt caught the tail end of a puzzled look from his friend as his eyes flickered up to Newt before Minho nodded and gave a simple, “Mmm hmmm ok.” He finished writing out whatever the customer said and then finished up the order. “Yes ma’am you’re welcome, and thank you so much for choosing The Glade for your floral needs! Have a nice rest of your day.”

Minho snorted and set the phone back on the receiver. “Man that was the strangest request ever.”

Newt shook his head and thought that it probably still wasn’t as weird as the one from several days earlier. He grumbled to himself for clearly not reading the air right between him and Thomas, he still was peeved over no phone call or text from him. He shook his head and brought the flowers back up to the counter to begin trimming them. 

“So I’m sorry to ask you this, but they specifically requested that ‘the blonde British boy’ deliver the flowers.” Minho was looking at him with an amused expression.

Newt sighed dramatically, “Ugh fine. But that’s not nearly as strange of a request as we’ve received before. What do they want the card to say?”

The smile on his coworkers face was growing with amusement and he held the notepad close to his chest so as to not let Newt see. “That’s the thing.” Minho’s voice was laced with a certain smugness that Newt wanted to smack him upside the head.

“ _What’s_ the thing?” He was growing impatient.

“She asked that you read it allowed to who it’s being delivered to. Something about being too nervous to do it herself or whatever.” 

“Oh well that’s just shucking great, I get to be delivery boy, at the end of my shift mind you, _and_ I have to ask them out for her?”

Minho just laughed in response and gave him a thumbs up in response.

“Who’s the card addressed to anyway?” He asked in resignation as he finished fluffing up one of the peony blooms.

“Uhh lemme check.” Minho looked down at his notes, “Someone named...Thomas.”

Newt’s head couldn’t whip around fast enough. Certainly it wasn’t the same Thomas from before? Right?

“Hey wait, isn’t that the name of the guy who never called you? You don’t think it’s the same guy do you?” Minho asked when he saw the horrified look on his managers face.

“I bloody well hope not.”

—

Thomas sat at his desk and stretched his arms over his head. He had been looking at the same spreadsheet that Teresa had sent him for over an hour trying to find what was wrong. When it came to the chemistry and science of everything, Tee was excelled–Thomas snorted at his own pun–but when it came to spreadsheets she was the worst with formatting.

They worked well like that though and had been picked up easily enough by the new experimental science company WCKD for both of their expertise in the science and resource management divisions. Thomas had been unlucky enough to be in the same department as the asshole Gally, and he really hoped that Teresa would change her mind about her transfer. The day prior would have been his last day working with her if she didn’t change her mind come Monday. 

The downside to having the the mandatory HR day off meant he had been asked to come in on Saturday to help out with some spreadsheets. He sighed when he looked at the clock, it was 3:49pm, just a little bit longer before he could leave. Maybe even leave early if he was lucky. 

He pulled Newt’s number from his pocket again and turned it over. He doubted still hadn’t sent a text and judging by the giant stack of papers he saw Brenda carrying his way, he doubted he would get out of work early like he had hoped. He shoved the card back in his pocket before she could notice and saved the document he was working on.

He glanced at the clock again, 3:50pm.

Thomas scrubbed a hand over his face to try and wake up. The day was never ending.

He helped pass the time by daydreaming about the blonde florist and wondered what he was up to at that very moment.

——

Newt was gathering up the bouquet and card to leave and run the delivery before heading home. He had sent Minho home a few minutes prior and decided to close up shop early. No sense keeping his friend around waiting for him to come back from such a late in the day delivery since he only lived a few blocks away from the place he was expected to deliver the flowers anyway. 

He looked down at the bouquet and smiled, at least it included peonies which were some of his favorite blooms to work with. 

After locking the front of the store he pulled out his phone to look up the address of where he was going again. His eyebrows shot up when he saw a text from a number he didn’t recognize.

_**Hey it’s Thomas, the guy with the weird flower request :)** _

Newt’s heart fluttered. Another message came through almost instantly and he couldn’t have been fast enough to open it if he tried.

_**I’m sorry I haven’t message you yet! It’s been a crazy week. Hope I’m not too late with getting back to you…** _

The blonde couldn’t help the warm smile that crept on his face. 

**I was beginning to think the foxglove scared you off, Tommy**

He sent his response quick before navigating back to the gps on his phone for the delivery. As much as he wanted to spend his time only texting Thomas, he figured he should at least do his job first. 

After figuring out the best route that would get him to the drop off location the quickest he started walking with the flowers in tow. He realized he wasn’t exactly dressed for a delivery and hoped that the girl who had ordered them didn’t mind considering it was so close to their own closing time for the florist shop anyway.

He definitely did not open up their conversation in anticipation for a response from the certain brunette. He just was checking to make sure that the silence on Thomas’s part was because he just had missed another message come in. It had been only 3 minutes since his response but who could blame him. He had waited nearly a week before he heard from the guy and he was just excited.

5 more minutes, and a few more blocks of walking later, he still hadn’t gotten a response. He furrowed his brow and checked the map again to make sure he was still on the right course before opening their conversation up again to send another message.

He really was _not_ impatient. Honestly. He stared at his keyboard while waiting at a crosswalk. He had no idea what to even say. Everything he typed up he deleted immediately. 

Thankfully at the halfway point towards his delivery he finally got another response which helped quiet the gears turning in his mind.

_**Haha, no you didn’t scare me off.** _

_**Sorry for delayed response. At work still** _

Newts stomach again did a somersault out of nowhere when he started wondering if he worked at the same place he was heading. He quickly calmed himself down because _seriously Newt he's not the only Thomas in the city who could be working._

**Same. Kind of. Finishing up a last minute delivery some shank called in and specially requested it for the end of our day at the shop. On top of that they want me to recite something from a card to the person they’re being delivered to.**

Knowing Thomas was at work eased his mind when the response he got was a couple of minutes later and not immediate like he wanted. 

_**At least whoever is getting a delivery will have something nice to look at ;)** _

Newt’s face flushed.

_**And I don’t mean the flowers btw** _

The blush on his cheeks deepened and he checked again to see how far away he was on the gps to cool down. Clearly he wasn’t mistaken about reading Thomas wrong and god did he want this delivery to be over with and for Thomas to not be at work anymore so they could talk properly.

**Yeah well first I have to make it to where I’m going and drop these buggin things off. I don’t know if my annoyed face will be something they’re gonna want to look at anyway.Plus I really don’t want to be the messenger for someone too chicken to ask this person out themselves**

_**Wait you have to ask someone out for someone else while delivering flowers? Is my request officially off the weirdest request list lol** _

**Piss off yours is still weird**

Newt looked at the time, 4:23. He was nearly there. 

**What’s your job anyhow? I never asked when you were in the shop.**

_**In a job that clearly hates me if I have to work weekends…** _

Newt snorted and ignored the strange look he got from the old woman standing next to him at the second to last crosswalk to his destination.

_**I work for a new scientific research company downtown.** _

Thoughts to Minho’s search for where the flowers were being delivered to resurfaced in his memory suddenly. 

_“This place sounds weird. It’s a huge science research company and their slogan sounds like something from a dystopian world. Good luck tonight, man.”_

Newt got that same bad feeling in his gut. He was so close to his destination and his heart was suddenly pounding.

**You don't by chance work at the same research company with the slogan “Wicked is Good” do you?**

He looked up when he realized he was standing outside of the building he was supposed to be at. The giant WCKD sign out front was almost too intimidating to look at and his feet were frozen in place.

**Tommy…?**

——

Thomas was going to kill Brenda. She always knew exactly when to interrupt him. He had heard his phone buzz with a new text notification but right before he opened it the pixie cut girl had sprung up almost out of nowhere in front of his desk.

Apparently she had messed up the printer in the supply room and needed his help. He heard another text notification buzz on his phone as he followed her down the hall. He sighed knowing it would have to wait.

——

If Newts nerves were on the fritz before then as he walked up the steps to the main lobby of the building they were suddenly on fire. His heart wouldn’t stop pounding in his chest and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears as he got closer to the receptionist.

The directions were to talk to the receptionist and have them take him back to where the flowers were being delivered. Apparently the girl who had called everything in said that she would inform the person working the front that he had permission to deliver the flowers in person instead of just dropping the bouquet off at the desk.

He cursed himself for agreeing to the ridiculous thing in the first place and followed the receptionist through the building. Thankfully where they were headed was on the first floor. He didn’t think his leg could take a flight of stairs or even waiting in an elevator, his nerves were too much for him and the muscles around an old injury were starting to tighten.

His hold on the vase of flowers also got tighter and he could see his knuckles turn white. Discreetly he checked the phone in his pocket only to see still no response from Tommy.

He gulped and kept following the lady leading him in the correct direction. He had a very bad feeling about this.

——

Thomas wasn’t sure exactly what Brenda had done with the printer, but by the time he got it working again his face was flushed and he was sure his disheveled shirt was no longer considered work appropriate. Moving the whole printer had been a feat in of itself, but changing the toner and then moving it back had proved to be much more difficult than Winston in IT made it sound from a previous printer malfunction earlier that week.

“That’s the last time I let you talk me into something like that again.” Thomas said grumpily and began to stalk back out of the supply closet.

“Oh you’ll thank me later I’m sure.” Brenda muttered under her breath and began to follow him. She glanced at the clock on the opposite side of the wall and smiled to herself. 4:32pm. “Wait Thomas come here a second I need to tell you something.”

She caught his attention just in time for him to turn around and look at her and miss a certain blonde walking up to his desk just on the other side of the room. Sometimes she really was an evil genius.

——

Newt had to walk the rest of the way to the desk for Thomas that he was growing more and more sure was his Tommy. Well not his his, but definitely not just some random Thomas like he had hoped for. The receptionist had pointed it out right before they walked into the large room with several desks pushed up against each other without any cubicles to block the view. He internally cursed because it meant nowhere for him to duck and hide in the almost certainty he was going to need to while making a break for it. 

He had quickly sent another discreet text right before walking in to the room once the receptionist had turned away in hopes that he didn’t hear a notification sound and this was all just some big mix up he could laugh about with Thomas later. Right as he walked up to the correct desk, he heard a buzzing sound and saw a phone on the desk light up and his name flash across the screen. 

Right as he was about to drop the flowers and run, he saw movement across the room to his right. Newt’s head snapped up just in time to see the Thomas he both desperately wanted to see again, while at the same time making his stomach feel sick at the thought that he had to ask him out for someone else at any moment. He watched as whoever he was with got his attention before he registered that Newt was even there. 

His heart pounded in his chest and he felt time stop when he watched as the other person grabbed him by his collar and pulled him down and closer to their head. He couldn’t see what they were doing exactly, but he had a pretty good guess when he saw Thomas stumble forward slightly. Newt may not have been close enough to see everything but he could see that Thomas’s face turned 3 shades darker with the flush that suddenly crept up his neck.

He felt so stupid and out of place. He tightened his grip once more on the flowers he was holding and braced himself for the humiliation that he knew he was about to endure.

Newt took one shaky breath in before steeling himself. His breath caught when Thomas turned around and stared right at him.

——

“You’re gonna hate me for this at first, but trust me it might just help you get laid.” Brenda had whispered in his ear as she pulled him down with such force that he had to take a step forward to steady himself.

He had no idea what she was talking about but couldn’t help the sudden blush that spread quickly up his neck and across his face. “What do you—”

“Oh and also you owe me $60 for this lover boy.” She cut him off before turning him around.

Thomas was about to demand to know what she was going on about but the floor felt like it was about to fall out from under him when he turned around to see the blonde florist he had been daydreaming about all week and finally had the nerve to message was standing at his desk. His eyes widened and he was sure he looked like an idiot when all he could do was open and close his mouth several times without actually saying anything. 

Brenda gave him a push forward on his shoulder and he all but tripped over his feet as he stumbled towards his desk. How had Newt known where he worked? How did he get taken back here without permission? How come he couldn’t say anything? And why was he looking at him with an intense and almost pissed off looking expression?

“Newt.” He finally breathed out. It could have been his imagination but he was certain he say Newt’s eye twitch when he said his name and suddenly the blonde was standing up straighter but still saying nothing. “How did you…?”

It was then that Newt shoved something cold into his hands. Thomas must’ve looked like he was in slow motion because it took a minute for it to register that he was even holding something and he looked down in surprise to see he was holding flowers. He looked back up to see an unimpressed look on Newt’s face as he pulled out a card from his shoulder bag.

Thomas stared at him and didn’t care if he looked like a creep. Newt was in front of him and he still looked as beautiful as the first day he saw him. His furrowed brow made his face scrunch up in the cutest way and Thomas couldn’t help the sudden affection he felt towards the florist. 

He watched as Newt ripped the card open and sigh before looking back up to Thomas’s eyes. His heart clenched at the sudden shift in emotion Newt had on his face. He looked pained.

“Newt–”

“These were a special order specifically designed with you in mind thanks to someone special in your life.” The blonde recited from memory. Thomas could see his lips start to tremble as well as the moment the blonde bit back his emotions and plowed forward with whatever he was about to say. “I’ve been asked to read this accompanying card for you as well.”

Thomas glanced down at the card and nearly missed the look Newt had made over his shoulder. Nearly. Probably Brenda watching from the other side of the room in amusement.

Wait. Brenda. _Brenda._

Suddenly everything was starting to fall in to place from everything Brenda had said just moments earlier to the messages from Newt about delivering flowers and reading a card to someone. 

_He_ was that someone. Brenda had set them up, and he suddenly could understand the hurt expression on Newt’s face when she had shoved Thomas in his direction and the look over his shoulder at her when he thought Thomas hadn’t seen.

Newt thought that Brenda was the one “too chicken enough to ask him out on their own,” but he could see exactly the kind of play she had just made on both of them. He had to hand it to her, the girl was conniving.

Thomas couldn’t help the laugh that suddenly ripped through him and he flipped Brenda off behind his back. Newt clearly hadn’t been expecting Thomas to laugh and it caught him off guard enough to stop from reading the card. 

“Very nice Brenda, but stay out of my love life will you.” Thomas said over his shoulder. He set the flowers down on his desk and reached forward to grab the card.

Newt flinched at the contact when their fingers brushed together, “Hey! What’re you doing?” He demanded and looked back and forth between Thomas and Brenda.

“Something I should’ve done sooner.” Thomas replied. He opened the card and snorted when he read the message inside. 

_Ask him out already you idiot. Also you still owe me $60._

Newt looked at him with the most adorably confused face that Thomas had ever seen. “I don’t understand, what’s going on? Did I miss something? Tommy?” 

At hearing Newt’s nickname for him he couldn’t help but reach forward and grab the blonde’s hand with one of his own. He looked down at the flowers and picked out one of the peonies with the largest bloom and held it out for Newt.

“Newt, I’m an idiot, and if you still like idiots, then would you like to go out for dinner with me this evening?”

Thomas watched pink flood the cheeks of the boy in front of him and he was again struck by how beautiful he was.

Newt looked down at the flower and then back up at Thomas with an amused glint in his eye and smiled. He gingerly grabbed the offered peony and ran his pinky up Thomas’s fingers while doing so. The fact he smirked the whole time and maintained eye contact while doing so made heat spread all over Thomas’s body and he felt his ears warm with his own blush.

“Good thing for you, Tommy, I _definitely_ still like idiots.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peonies have several different meanings including romance and beauty.
> 
> Romance in peonies can represent deep love and romance towards someone special, while at the same time are good for showing your crush just how much they mean to you.
> 
> Beauty in peonies can be seen in their blooms and represented in showing the person you are giving them that the beauty of the flower is something you see reflected in them as well.
> 
> Carnations, depending on their colour, also have different meanings. Red carnations represent admiration while deep red represent love and affection.
> 
> —
> 
> Also if this was something I continued with would anyone be interested? I suddenly have an itch to write different chapters for different flower combos for these two dumb boys


End file.
